Father, Son, Brother References in the Old Toon
 

Hello again,
Yesterday I picked up Vol 4 of the OT, like a good little TMNT fan and I watched all 12 episodes then and there. When I got to "Green with Jealosy" I recieved a shock, one that I only got in "Enter the Shredder". Splinter, who seems to be the only one to make these refrences oddly enough, called Donnie, "my son" and proceeded to use the phrase "your brother Turtles." The only other refrence to "my sons" I can remember is, as I said, in "Enter the Shredder" Splinter there said "Head upward, my sons. Find a way around all this!" Those, so far, are the only 2 "My Sons/Brother" refrences I've heard, anyone know of any others?

Side Note: In "Ninja Sword to Nowhere" the TMNT search for a gift for "National Sensi Appriciation Day," and when in the pawn shop looking they call Splinter just a "special" or "good" friend. What's up with that!?

I've heard Splinter in the old toon refer to them as 'his friends' which i found totally WRONG.

He even called them "his young wards" in the first episode.

Yeah...I was often taken aback by the fact they were"young friends" and wards, and not his "sons".It's just a bit...i dunna...of a let down.

At least "wards" implies a guardian relationship. He aslo called them his students, which is true, but not as nice to hear as "sons".

I feel lucky to have never picked up on the idea that they were "friends" when I was young... I just assumed Splinter was the papa. I guess that in that storyline the turtles were Hamato Yoshi's friends just as the rats were. :p

Meh. Not something I ever noticed when I was a kid, and to be honest, it's still something that doesn't strike me as a big deal. And like Iris said, back then I just interpreted Splinter as the father-figure anyway.

Yes... I have Volume One and it bothers me that Splinter refers to the Turtles as "my students" or "disciples," as if he was merely their trainer that happened to live with them.

Of course, I find the whole "family" aspect of TMNT to be the most appealing, so there you go. I just like to think of that as Splinter being formal and that he actually is their father figure. I don't like Leo's constant "but Master Splinter said..." in the show, but it would be even worse if Splinter wasn't even acting as their father.

Yeah, me too. I think the movies helped me formulate that idea. Looking back, i also see the guys always calling eachother by the full name in the OT, Leonardo, Donatello and so on. It was the movie that may have helped me as a child cement the "family" relationship. Splinter called them his sons. The acted and called each other brother. They used the shortened forms of the names, which in my childhood role playing we all used. So as mucgh as the show never gave off that family vibe, maybe the movies made up for it.

Yeah in the movies they had that family feeling. Siblings use nicknames, not their full names...IRL that happens. Many times did Splinter call them his sons, "I am here...my son," part with Raphers.
They acted more natural in the movie. The cartoon lacked in the family department.

well, in the cartoon they were more like a group of wild and crazy mutants that just hang together, and then spring to the rescue the next time a major crime breaks out.

grrrr:evil: this sort of thing pisses me off!!

Yes, the turtles where a family and acted like siblings in the classic cartoon, I always got that vibe from the turtles back then. And Splinter did act like a father figure with the turtles, I always got that empression from him.

And so what if the turtles call each other by their full names instead of shortening them into chopped up nick names? That doesn't mean that they weren't siblings. My older sister is named Andrea thats what I called her even when I was little, not some shortened version of her name. Actually i always thought nick names where for buddies and friends, not nessasarliy siblings.

If anything in the old toon Splinter was just very formal proper. thats why he introduced the turtles as his "diciples" and "young wards". Geez, you don't have to continously adress your kids with "my sons" or your sibling as "my brother" all the time to to show that you are a family :roll: